Grindr is getting a big, gay makeover this summer

Hot on the heels of hitting 1 million daily users, gay meetup app Grindr has unveiled a more refined application that will be released this summer across iOS, Android, and BlackBerry platforms.

Grindr’s mobile apps have attracted more than 4 million people to date across iOS, Android, and BlackBerry, and it is used in 192 countries. CEO and founder Joel Simkhai told us it has the “largest gay audience for a sole gay property” of any single product, a pretty impressive feat for a bootstrapped startup. The tech community has responded positively too, and the app recently beat out Foursquare, Airbnb, and Uber for Best Location Application Crunchie Award.

As you can partly see in the photos above, the new app will include improved navigation with a slide-out menu, a refined interface for searching for men to hang out with, a new chat screen, and a better filter option for narrowing search results. It will also feature a new profile field for communities like bears, jocks, and more to help people find their type better.

Los Angeles-based Grindr was founded in 2009 and has raised no outside funds. Simkhai said he is open to taking money from VCs, but he wants to make sure the company finds the right partner who will stay true to the app’s vision.

To get a better sense of Grindr’s reach, check out the “heat map” below to see a where people around the world were using Grindr at 7:45 p.m. PT on June 3: